D-day for Goldsmith pervert decision

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, is preparing to decide whether to refer the case of paedophile Craig Sweeney - who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a three-year-old girl - to the Court of Appeal.

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, is preparing to decide whether to refer the case of paedophile Craig Sweeney - who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a three-year-old girl - to the Court of Appeal.

Judge John Griffith Williams caused an outcry when he ruled at Cardiff Crown Court that Sweeney, who was given a life sentence, would nevertheless be eligible for parole after five years and 108 days.

Today is the final day that Lord Goldsmith can refer the sentence to the Appeal Court, with a view to seeking a tougher sentence.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney insisted that he still had not made a final decision - despite a report that he was set to announce that the original tariff must stand as it was within the sentencing guidelines.

She said that he had given an undertaking to the girl's family that he would inform them of his decision before anyone else.

The original sentence sparked a furious row between the Government and the judiciary after Home Secretary John Reid complained that it "unduly lenient".

There were reports that Lord Goldsmith was angered by his intervention as he feared it could jeopardise his chances of appealing the sentence.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, eventually stepped in with a warning to ministers not to criticise individual judges.

He said that the problem was with the way the sentencing framework had developed - not its implementation by the judiciary. ..SUPL: